French Revolution

We explain what the French Revolution was and its main events. Also, its causes and consequences.

contemporary age beginning french revolution
The French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille in 1789.

What was the French Revolution?

The French Revolution was a historical process that France went through between 1789 and 1799 from which politics, society and the economy were transformed. Was the first liberal revolution that overthrew the monarchy and dissolved the privileges of class society of the Old Regime.

This revolution was led by a social group made up of the bourgeoisie, the peasantry, artisans, trade professionals and other urban workers, and the lower clergy. Through a series of events, this social group managed to overthrow the monarchy of King Louis XVI and impose a revolutionary government.

Revolutionary groups in France were influenced by the Enlightenment movement and guided by the ideals of freedom and equality. The concept of equality questioned the political, economic and social privileges held by the nobility and the high hierarchy of the clergy. The ideal of freedom aimed to defend private property and business freedom against the impositions and regulations of the monarchy. Furthermore, at the beginning of the revolution, fraternity was also hailed, as the union of all citizens for the common good.

The consequences of the French Revolution were so important worldwide that many historians consider this historical process as the milestone that begins a new era in the history of humanity. In most periodizations, The French Revolution marks the end of the Modern Age and the beginning of the Contemporary Age.

See also: Liberalism

Key points

  • The French Revolution was a revolutionary process that swept through France between 1789 and 1799, overthrowing the monarchy and destroying the social structure of the Ancien Regime.
  • The revolutionary groups were made up of social sectors that did not have privileges: the bourgeoisie, the peasantry, the lower clergy, artisans and other urban workers.
  • The ideals that guided the revolution were freedom, equality and fraternity. However, it was a process marked by violence and the imposition of different social groups on others.
  • Among the most important revolutionary leaders were Maximilian Robespierre, Georges Danton, Jean-Paul Marat, Louis de Saint-Just and Camille Desmoullins.
  • The revolution ended with the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte and his attempt to create a French empire in Europe.
  • The main consequences of the revolution were the fall of the feudal social structure and the French monarchy, the expansion of Enlightenment ideals throughout Europe and the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars.
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History of the French Revolution

The French Revolution went through different stages: the National Assembly (1789-1791), the Legislative Assembly (1791-1792), the Republic (1792-1795), the Directory (1795-1799) and the Consulate/Empire (1799-1815). During these stages, different sectors that had united against the monarchy came to power and influenced the course of the revolution.

Between 1789 and 1799, the revolution was marked by violence. The riots in the streets, the barricades and the spontaneous violent demonstrations were followed by violence carried out by the revolutionary government.

In 1793, the Legislative Assembly approved the execution by guillotine of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. with this event The period known as “the Terror” began in which the Jacobins (the most radicalized faction of the revolutionaries) used government institutions to eliminate different opponents. It is estimated that between 1793 and 1795, almost eighteen thousand people were publicly executed on charges of counterrevolutionary activities.

On the other hand, The government established by the revolution had to face the Counterrevolution starring a large part of the nobility and the high clergy and supported by the monarchies of Prussia and Austria. With the execution of Louis XVI, the kings of Spain, the United Kingdom, Holland, Naples and Piedmont joined the counter-revolutionary forces and France went to war with much of the European continent.

The French Revolution It ended with the seizure of power by Napoleon Bonaparte an Army general who had the support of a large part of the moderate sectors of the revolution. During his government, Napoleon restarted a process of concentration of power and proclaimed the “expansion of the revolution” to other European countries.

In 1815, Napoleon was defeated by the enemy armies. This marked the end of the revolution and the restoration of the monarchy in France.

See also: Napoleonic Wars

Characteristics of the French Revolution

French Revolution
The motto “Liberty, equality and fraternity” served as a guide for the French Revolution.

The French Revolution It was characterized by the destruction of the Ancien Regime that governed the political, economic and social life of the European monarchies in the 18th century.

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Instead, New parameters were established guided by the motto “Liberty, equality and fraternity”. These three notions were expressed in new political forms, linked to those of popular sovereignty and representation:

  • Freedom. This principle referred to the defense of individual rights: the abolition of serfdom, freedom of expression (which included religious profession, political opinions and philosophical ideas), political participation (the freedom to elect representatives) and business freedom (which was based on the right of private property).
  • Equality. This notion implied the abolition of the privileges that differentiated the classes of society. The revolution published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which established legal equality for all citizens. However, this equality did not consider women as citizens, so their rights were not recognized.
  • Fraternity. This idea was linked to cooperation and mutual support between citizens, with the aim of recovering popular sovereignty. It was also related to the vocation to expand the ideals of freedom and equality to all men in the world.
  • Popular sovereignty. According to the ideals of the Enlightenment, power resided in the people, and men had the right to participate in their government because they were sovereign subjects.
  • Representation. This notion expressed the mechanism through which sovereign subjects elected, through suffrage, those who they believed could best represent and defend the interests of the social group.

Causes of the French Revolution

Among the main causes of the French Revolution are the political, economic and social inequality that the Old Regime maintained, the impossibility of the bourgeoisie to access political participation, the economic crisis resulting from the administrative measures of the monarchy and the spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Political causes

The monarchy was absolutist and power was concentrated in the hands of the king. The political power of the nobility and the high clergy was limited within the absolutist structure, and the rest of the population did not have access to political participation. This regime came into conflict with the aspirations of the bourgeoisie, whose economic power had been consolidating in recent decades.

Economic causes

During his reign, Louis XVI implemented some economic measures promoted by enlightened liberal thought: he expanded the tax base and deregulated the grain market. However, he also became involved in America's wars and maintained the high cost of his court. After years of poor harvests, France entered a state of economic and financial crisis that weakened its government.

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Social causes

French society was divided into three estates or “states”: the first and second were made up of the nobility and the high clergy, which concentrated political and economic privileges. The third estate was made up of 97% of the population, which included the bourgeoisie (whose power and economic status had been consolidated in recent decades), the peasantry, artisans, professionals, the lower clergy and the rest of the urban workers. The third estate did not have access to political participation, it lacked basic rights and all taxes fell on it.

Cultural causes

Revolutionary ideas were inspired by the thinkers and philosophers of the Enlightenment, who defined the principles of freedom, equality and popular sovereignty. Many of the leaders of the revolution had read the works of authors such as Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau.

Consequences of the French Revolution

Among the main consequences of the French Revolution are the elimination of the social privileges that characterized the Ancien Regime, the establishment of fundamental rights of the people and the growth of liberal movements in different parts of Europe.

End of the Old Regime

At the end of the revolutionary period in France, the Restoration period began, which involved the reestablishment of the monarchy. However, the class society could not be reconstructed, and the bases of the Old Regime were definitively eliminated. Society was no longer divided into “states” defined by family origin and class privileges.

First proclamation of universal human rights

With the French Revolution, the Western tradition of establishing fundamental rights for citizens in writing began. Some elementary freedoms were recognized that today are considered universal.

Expansion of the liberal revolution

Revolutionary ideals influenced movements throughout Europe. On the other hand, the European wars resulting from French expansionism (during the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte) created the conditions for the Spanish colonies in America to begin their independence processes.

References

  • Bergeron, L., Furet, F. and Koselleck, R. (2011). The time of the European revolutions 1780-1848. 21st century.
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2022). French Revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
  • Davies, P. (2014). The French Revolution. A brief introduction. Alliance.
  • Vovelle, M. (2000). Introduction to the history of the French Revolution. Criticism.